Parks looking forward to new attractions

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission is moving from phase one of its long term business plan, which was freeing up resources by eliminating waste, into phase two – the growth phase.

Last week, SLPC invited 90 guests to its annual partner day, where Darren Dalgleish general manager and CEO St. Lawrence Parks Commission shared SLPC’s plans for the future with its partners.

“Tourism is a really interesting product, with the greatest opportunity for economic impact,” he told the crowd gathered at the Upper Canada Village Discovery Centre for the event. “It is critical to recognize its importance.

The SLPC, which has over 500 employees and operates Upper Canada Village, Fort Henry and 13 riverside parks, has been focused on the shoulder seasons with events like Pumpkinferno and Alight at Night, with much success, having cut losses by 56 per cent.

In fact Pumpkinferno was trademarked and franchised and now there are three Pumpkinferno events operating with all of the production for those based here in Morrisburg.

The two major attractions announced for 2016 include the opening of Skywood Eco Adventure Park at the old Brown’s Bay Campground and Fort Frost at Fort Henry in Kingston.

Construction for Skywood, what will be Ontario’s largest zip lining and canopy adventure park, is already underway.

It will feature a large tree top village for children, include courses that are accessible and offer a blend of fun and discovery for guests of all ages.

If all goes according to plan, by December 2016, Fort Henry will be transformed into Fort Frost.

Dalgleish describes the hour-long visitor experience as Frozen meets It’s A Wonderful Life.

Similar to Pumpkinferno, but in the Kingston market, Fort Frost is expected to attract 60,000 to 70,000 visitors.

In this area, the SLPC is expanding Farran Park with 45 full service campsites.

Seven additional camper cabins will be added this year a few treehouses are being built to offer another type of camping experience.

In another year the plan is to offer a new Winter Awaking attraction, expected to take place in February at Upper Canada Village.

“We expect continued expansion year over year,” said Dalgleish. “The sky’s the limit.”

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Summer may be coming to an end but the vibrant colours of fall are right around the corner.

On Saturday and Sunday, September 20 and 21, Upper Canada Village will celebrate the bounty of harvest time with an amazing display of produce, art and artisan made works along with rare heritage breeds of livestock.

The public is invited to enter their fine art, preserves, handwork, vegetables and other items to see how they measure up against Village staff.

All entries must comply with 1860s guidelines which can be found and downloaded at www.uppercanadavillage.com and must be registered by 9 a.m. on Friday, September 19.

Visitors will have the opportunity to see a number of rare and unusual heritage breeds of poultry and sheep from Rare Breeds Canada and Upper Canada Village’s own Canadian horses, cows and other livestock will be on display.

Beautiful Victorian needlework and embroidery, delicious preserves, pickles and baked goods, heritage vegetables, watercolours and oil paintings, honey, cheese as well as articles showcasing early industry will be inside the Fall Fair tent recreating the atmosphere of an 1860’s Agricultural Exhibition.

Visitors won’t want to miss the Moss Motto, a large picture made from plant materials which has been carefully prepared by Village staff, and is a truly unique feature on display in the Fall Fair Tent.

Exhibits of agricultural and horticultural products, domestic manufactures and ladies’ work will be displayed throughout the day from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and there will be special exhibits highlighting trades and industry in the 1860’s inside the Fall Fair tent.

The Village Fall Fair “fair” prices for treats: Apples, Village-baked bread, Village cheese, cider, lemonade and fudge will all be available at only 50 cents per serving.

Children can participate in several 19th century games taking place throughout the weekend. Ring toss, three-legged races, sack races, wheelbarrow races, and tug-of-war are being organized to provide young visitors with a taste of some good old-fashioned fun and tasty prizes.

Upper Canada Village is open from 9:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday until September 21. The Village’s Fall event, Pumpkinferno will run on select nights from Friday, October 3 through Saturday, November 1.

Red and white were definitely the colours of choice for the hundreds of people enjoying Canada’s 145th birthday, July 1, 2012, in South Dundas.

Sunny skies and great temperatures ensured big turnouts in Iroquois and Morrisburg. Or, as MP Guy Lauzon jokingly told the Morrisburg crowd, “I just want you to know that the Federal government is responsible for this beautiful weather. If it rains, that’s the provincial government’s fault.”

Canada Day organizers for both communities were pleased with the great support they received from volunteers and area businesses and from the public. MPP Jim McDonnell and mayor Steven Byvelds joined Lauzon in thanking the committees for the hours and months of work they put in to make this Canada Day a success.

There was plenty to see and to do at area celebrations. Rides and games, petting zoos and bike decorating contests, giant inflatable slides and paddle boats entertained the smaller partiers. Adults could relax and take in some of the outstanding performers on stage in Earl Baker Park or at the Point.

As well as conventional hot dogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, strawberry short cake and candy apples, Morrisburg held an evening lobster feast and Iroquois-Matilda Lions hosted their annual chicken barbecue.

Vendors at the Morrisburg Market offered something interesting for every shopping taste. Visitors could also enjoy a chat with John Carruthers, who had a display of 1812 weapons and musket balls at his table, in keeping with the 200th anniversary of the War.

The ecumenical service held outside in Iroquois in the early morning drew many worshippers.

Morrisburg’s K9 Agility events were crowd pleasers as was the TimBits soccer tournament held at the Point. The Car Show in Iroquois also proved popular, with 210 entrants coming out to talk about and show their cars.

Spectacular fireworks rounded out a full day of celebration in South Dundas. The word used most often to describe those shows at both Iroquois and Morrisburg was “awesome.”

“We often choose a play that revolves around a family for our last show of the summer season,” said director Donnie Bowes. “I read the script for A Nice Family Gathering some time ago, loved it, and decided this would be the right year to perform it. I knew I was going to need a blue chip cast for this one.”

Director Bowes has assembled that blue chip cast for the final production of the regular theatre season at Upper Canada Playhouse. A Nice Family Gathering opens on September 6 and runs until September 30. His actors are in final rehearsals on the striking, split set designed by John Thompson, built and lighted by Sean Free.

“I like to do something a little different as we go into fall,” Bowes explained at a recent press conference. “This play is more in the tradition of Over the River and Through the Woods, On Golden Pond and Having Hope At Home. It’s not a door slamming farce, but rather a play that revolves around a particular family, and their conflicts, when they come home to celebrate Thanksgiving. It is really full of laughter.”

The play, by Phil Olson, deals with the (understandable) chaos that erupts when often squabbling siblings get together for a “nice” holiday dinner, then discover that the late family patriarch has also chosen to ‘appear’ at the gathering, but only to one of his sons, and to no one else.

Doug Tangney, as ‘Dad,’ the ghost, says that his character, who hasn’t quite ‘moved on’, gets “caught up again in the family web. He still has some issues, and since he’s the man he was before, with all the same passions he had in life, a certain havoc follows him. I think of him as the match thrown into a box of fire works.”

The on stage ghost presents some interesting challenges for Tangney and for his fellow players.

“I have to have movements that are not distracting,” Tangney said. “I am more of a feeling in the room than a physical presence.”

Richard Bauer, who plays son Carl, laughs that it can be “interesting to be talking to a real person, and then hearing and responding to a ghost at the same time. When you try to cover it up, everyone naturally thinks you’re mad. But that leads to a lot of comedy.”

“Early on in the game, we decided that our ghost had to be treated as a real person,” director Bowes said. “It was interesting and a lot of fun to insert him into the action yet the characters can’t see him.”

Williams, fresh from his run in On the Flight Path, plays Michael, the eldest Lundeen son. “He’s the favourite son,” Williams laughed, “because he became a doctor to fulfill his parents’ expectations, but his success has come at a certain cost.”

His wife, Jill, is not helping his peace of mind. Kate Gordon jokes that her character is “the perfect, lovely wife who can do no wrong. Actually, she really, really wants a baby, and she gets highly emotional at times.”

As the youngest Lundeen sibling, Stacey, played by Liz Gilroy, is very much a loner. She has also come to the family gathering with at least two major bombshells to drop on her family. “Stacey is smart, but really a little wierd,” Gilroy explained. “What’s more, although she can’t see him, she senses Dad a bit, can sometimes even almost hear him. That adds to the confusion.”

Linda Goranson, (who commuted to rehearsals at UCP while still starring in Calendar Girls in Belleville), is Helen, the mom. “I just want my whole family to come together for the ideal (and what turns out to be largely mythical) Thanksgiving dinner. It’s fun, but challenging for me to have Dad on stage as a ghost. You have to really concentrate not to see him or his activities.”

Rounding out the cast is Don Ciaschini, as Jerry. Jerry is not a member of the Lundeen family; he’s been invited to the gathering by Helen. “Now this definitely causes a few problems,” Ciaschini laughs. “The Lundeen boys certainly ‘misconstrue’ what I’m doing at their mother’s table.”

“This is a wonderful play,” said Donnie Bowes. “The humour is built into the reality of families and their issues. It’s a great show.”

Tickets for A Nice Family Gathering are available at Upper Canada Playhouse. Call 613-543-3713, or go on line at www.uppercanadaplayhouse.com.